A Georgia police department's 911-to-text feature may have helped a deaf woman save the lives of two young children.
A deaf shopper at North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Ga., contacted 911 Monday after noticing two young children alone in a car in the parking lot.
A depiction of the text conversation has gone viral on Facebook, with more than 6,300 shares in two days.
"I'm inside [a] store now so I can't see the make or kind [of the car] but [I'm] keeping [an] eye on it," the woman texted 911 services, explaining that she was deaf.
"Thank you for texting," a responder replied. "I have an officer on the way."
A police officer arrived on the scene and discovered two small children that had been left in the car for almost an hour, according to an Alpharetta Public Safety department spokesperson.
The responding officer located the parents who said they had left a 15-year-old in charge of the children. No arrests were made.
The Alpharetta Department of Public Safety is the first adopter of Text-to-911, a technological program that allows cell phone users to text messages to 911 in lieu of calling, in the metro Atlanta region.
The Text-to-911 is not available in most parts of the U.S. Authorities still advise people to contact 911 with a voice call, if possible.
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